


Untitled

by softlovebites



Category: Untitled - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Asian Character(s), Character Development, Childhood Friends, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gay Male Character, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Real Events, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Male Character of Color, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Fiction, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Teasing, Teenagers, Work Contains Fan(s) or Fandom(s), YouTube, mlm author, one direction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-09-25 14:38:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9824909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softlovebites/pseuds/softlovebites
Summary: Laurent didn't think that he'd meet his love in an almost empty dismissal area. And yet, there his love, Elias, was. Only a few feet apart but it feels as if there wouldn't be any more space between them in the following years.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! So it's my first time taking an original story seriously (yeah I know I'm sorry) and I really hope you'll like it. It might be a slow build, although not much is for sure yet. I'm just letting this story write itself (does that make any sense?). I'm not really one for planning, I'm quite spontaneous so I hope you can bear with that. Talk to me/message me xx - L.

Laurent was born in the Philippines. He had a brother, Zach, who was two years older than him. At the age of five, his family visited his grandparents on his mother's side in America. He stayed there longer than he should have, but his grandparents needed their help. Later, his family insisted to stay and support them for a while.  
  
Needless to say, Laurent had to adjust, but only a bit.  
  
  
To start off, he was never very good at speaking in Filipino. He often jumbled the words, even the letters in the words, when he formed sentences. Zach was better than him at that, although Laurent had always been quite a fast learner. Laurent's mother found it very adorable when Laurent looked for his older brother, especially when they were still toddlers. Laurent would say, ever so slowly and carefully, _“Saan na si kuya?_ ”, meaning _“Where is my brother?”_ and his mother would reply, “He's in school.” It's actually a silent rule that if one spoke in Filipino, the other would reply in Filipino, and it goes the same for English. Yet, his mother probably thought it was best if he could immediately understand what she said. She was always a little bit more merciful than his father.  
  
“I wish I can go to school... I want to see _kuya_.” Laurent would say. It's a must to always call his older brother _kuya_ as a sign of respect. He only ever called him by his name once, and his favourite aunt had scolded him. It didn't really end well.  
  
His mother would smile gently at him as he takes his chubby, tiny hand. “I know, but he'll be back soon. Then you can play.”  
  
Laurent seems.. well, a bit clingy because he and his brother were together on a daily basis, and Zach wasn't an asshole like other brothers were. Zach was kind and even affectionate, very protective of Laurent and stood by him no matter what. Through Zach, Laurent discovered his talents and enhanced them. He took a liking to drawing. Zach was more... “original”, while Laurent was very good at imitation, accurate with lines and angles. But Laurent loved reading, while Zach absolutely loathed it, preferring to watch cartoons instead of sitting down and trying to comprehend a book.  
  
But going back, Laurent was glad when he didn't have to speak in Filipino with those around him, because they wouldn't even understand what he's saying. He had a perfectly good reason not to. As time went by, he became more and more fluent in English, always improving his vocabulary. But even if that was an advantage, he still was, inevitably, the new student. He tried to go around, making friends here and there. He ended up in a small circle, and he didn't mind. He actually liked it a lot. He was friends with everyone (mostly), but he wanted only a few close friends to be with. He had Jennifer, Jade, and Aya. Sometimes, Aya didn't hang out with them, so young Laurent thought that Jennifer and Jade were really the ones who stayed with him. He realized that they were when they proved so many times that they cared about him.  
  
He was teased when he was seen only hanging out with girls, but Jennifer and Jade always stood up for him. He had a small crush on one of his classmates, whose name was Joseph. He didn't want to admit that to himself, because he had never seen a boy and another boy together in his whole life. It was always a girl and a boy, never a couple of the same sex. He told Jennifer and Jade this, and they comforted him, telling him it wasn't a big deal. _It's okay to like someone_ , they told him. He did confess, mostly because his friends encouraged him. So eventually, he did but his feelings weren't reciprocated. And even worse, he was insulted by Joseph and his friends. He had an even bigger crush on his brother's best friend, Nick, but that didn't do him any good either. Some kids also pushed him around for "acting gay" and for being "too girly". That, plus coming from a third world country. “Class, this is Laurent,” his teacher, Ms. Philipps, had gestured to him, “He's from the Philippines, please welcome him.” They obviously didn't, but he pulled through anyway.  
  
Laurent was beginning to see that the teasing turned into bullying. Ms. Philipps took notice of this, and asked for him to stay a little after class. “Laurent, is there something you would like to tell me?” What was he supposed to say? Even though he was without a doubt the victim, he knew he would feel guilty somehow if he had said something. “Ms. Philipps, I...” his chin was tilted up, “It's okay, you can tell me.” He switched from one foot to the other, unknowingly expressing his discomfort. “I think m-my classmates are b-bullying me.. I really want them to like me, and I didn't do anything to hurt them. Why do they hate me? I like it when people are happy but I'm sad if they're only happy because they're hurting me. When they make fun of me, it really hurts. Why won't they stop?” He didn't realize that he was sniffling and crying until Ms. Philipps was wiping at his cheeks. “I'm so sorry, dear. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. Is there anything else you want to say? I'll listen.”  
  
But how was she supposed to stop it? “Ms. Philipps, what are you going to do...?” His teacher took his tiny hands in hers, “Well, I'd like to personally tell them to stop bothering you. I also want to tell your parents—” He gasped, shaking his head vigorously. “N-No! I... I'm sorry I didn't mean to shout. I-I... I don't want my parents to know, please don't tell them.” He watched her eyebrows raise, “Laurent, why wouldn't you want your parents to know?” He swallowed the lump in his throat, “Y-You see... they hurt me because they think I.. I like boys. And that I act like a girl. A-And because I'm from the Philippines. My parents will be really mad and they might make me leave. I don't want to leave because Jennifer and Jade are my friends.”  
  
She gave him an apologetic look, and he thought that she'll have to do it anyway. But she seemed to change her mind, “Okay, okay, I'll have an announcement in our class tomorrow. I'll find a way to hint that no one should be hurting each other, how does that sound? That way, it's safe, isn't it?” That sounded a lot better. “I'd like that, yes, thank you so much.” He hugged her and had shy look on his face. “You're such a cute, bashful kid, you know that?” He felt his lips tremble, but not in the bad way. He's so relieved that she was going to help him.  
  
The next day, she did as promised. She placed her usual things on the teacher's desk, facing the class. Everyone became quiet, waiting for their teacher to speak. She went with, “Good morning class. Today, I'd like everyone to think about the last time they hurt someone. I want you all to remember that it's never a good idea to do that, especially if the person you hurt did nothing to you. If you can, after thinking, please go to that person you hurt and apologize. And of course, if you say sorry, you shouldn't do it again, okay? It's good to spread love. Love the people around you, even if you think they're different.” Off they went with their given task, and Ms. Philipps was relieved to see that a group of people had come to apologize to Laurent. It was evident they were guilty, and Laurent gave them a watery smile.  
  
A few months later, he was going to return to the Philippines. He cried, telling his friends he had to go back. It was so unfortunate for him, not only because he was leaving his friends but it was merely the first half of the school year. He cried harder when he was on the escalator with his family, waving goodbye to his grandparents. He knew it was just a little vacation, just a visit, but still.  
  
Going back to his very first school (excluding first step) was a bit life changing. There, little Laurent didn't know he was going to meet someone who will become very special to him.  
  
Now this is where everything began.  
  
First grade wasn't very memorable, but he was part of a fashion show though. He was dressed as Leonardo DiCaprio. A year later, he became class president. And more importantly, that's when he met him.

  
  
Elias.

  
Elias went to the all-boys school next to Laurent's. He was a year older than him, but still in second grade; he started school late.  
  
One afternoon, after classes, Laurent was waiting for his mother to pick him up. He waited and waited and waited and soon, it was only him and a little girl in the area. He hated this, he was usually a patient person, but why was his mom taking so long? He kind of wanted to cry. He can feel his eyes watering and then —  
  
“Iana, there you are. Big brother missed you.” He looked behind him, he didn't notice a boy had entered his school. He was too caught up with thinking about his mom.  
  
“Elias! Where's mommy?” He heard Iana, the little girl, say. “Mom's parking right now. She'll be here any minute now.” Iana smiled at him, “Okay, I'll just drink at the drinking fountain there.” She pointed, and Elias nodded at her. “Be careful.” As she skipped away to the drinking fountain, Elias turned around, meeting Laurent's eyes.  
  
Now that Laurent is actually looking at him, he thought that Elias was the most handsome boy he's ever seen. Elias' hair was almost jet black, while Laurent's was a shade of dark chocolate. Elias' eyes were green, while Laurent's were blue. And even though they were in the same grade, with only a year being their age gap, Elias was quite tall. A head taller than Laurent, to be exact.  
  
They stared at each other for a while, and Elias looked away to check on his little sister. She was now looking at a stray butterfly sitting on a blade of grass. Okay, he had time.  
  
Laurent's eyes widened when he realized Elias was making his way towards him. He looked down and prayed he didn't look like a total freak.  
  
“Hi.”  
  
He looked up, and his mind went blank. _Why did Elias have to be so handsome, but even more so up close?_  
  
“Hi.” He barely managed to get it out, and it was just above a whisper. “I'm Elias, what's your name?” Laurent gripped his shorts, making it a little crumpled. “Laurent.” He still wasn't meeting his eyes, too shy to look directly at him. But he's thanking the heavens that Elias spoke in English rather than Filipino. He feared Elias would make fun of him if he found out he wasn't fluent. He felt Elias sit next to him, “Why hasn't anyone fetched you?” This time, Laurent made himself look at him.  
  
Elias seemed to be a little startled by the action for some reason, but he continued, “I-I mean, if you don't mind me asking.” Laurent didn't know himself, so he shrugged, “I don't know. Mommy's not here yet.” Elias frowned, “Do you want candy? I have some if you want. You might be hungry.” Laurent giggled in response covering his mouth with a dainty hand, “Candy? That won't make me feel full.” He saw Elias' cheeks turning red, “U-Um.. I, uh...” He giggled some more, “It's okay! I love candy. What do you have?” Elias had an almost blinding grin, “I have strawberry and mango flavored ones. Which do you want?” He reached into his pocket and held them out for Laurent to see. “Strawberry! I love that one. Do you know _Strawberry Shortcake_?”  
  
Laurent turned away in the next second. _Strawberry Shortcake_? Really? He's a _boy_ , now Elias is going to think he's weird.  
  
“Yeah, I know that one. I watch it with my sister sometimes.” Elias said, tapping Laurent's shoulder. “What's wrong? Are you okay?” Laurent went back to staring at the floor. “Um... you don't think I'm weird?” Elias tilted his head, confusion written all over his face. “Weird? Why would I think that?” Laurent didn't know what to say next, but, “Because I like it. I like watching it. But it's for girls and I'm a boy.” He didn't hear Elias say anything for a while, and he started to panic.

 

  
  
“I think you're cute.” He looked back at Elias so fast it made his head spin, and now he's able to look him in the eye. “What did you say?” Elias pushed back a strand of hair from Laurent's eyes, “I said I think you're cute.”


	2. Disguise

Laurent didn't know what to do with himself. Another boy just told him that he thinks he's cute. He knows that his face managed to turn into different shades of red. How was he even supposed to react...?  
  
He can't focus on anything but the fact that Elias is in front of him. He is interacting with him and he's being so sweet towards him. Elias continued, “And I don't think you're weird, like, at all. There's nothing wrong with liking to watch it.”  
  
Up until now, Laurent always had the impression that boys should be rough, that they should be relentless and dominant. He thought that they weren't allowed to cry and that it's abnormal to like the color pink.  
  
Talking and listening to Elias made it seem... not so bad. Or even at all. “Thank you. You're being so nice to me but you don't know me.” Laurent said, voice small. “That's okay. No one said I didn't want to know you. Let's be friends,” Elias backtracked, “Just, if you want...” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his sister running towards them.  
  
“Elias! Mommy's here. Let's go.” He looked hesitant, but he stood up nonetheless. “Okay Iana, get your bag and go to mom, I'll follow.” Iana did as she was told, sneaking a glance at her brother's new friend, then off she went.  
  
Laurent wasn't sure what to say, a _goodbye_? _See you later_? “Do you have a telephone at home?” Elias asked. “Um, yes, why?” He laughed quietly, “I want to call you. So... if it's okay, can you give me your number?” Laurent fumbled for his ID, checking for the number. Once he saw it, he showed it to Elias.  
  
“Here.” Elias brought out a pen and wrote the digits on his hand. “I'll call you, okay?” Before Laurent could reply, he heard his name being called, “Laurent!” Both boys looked towards the sound of the voice.  
  
Laurent stood, grabbing his bag and hoisting it over his shoulder, “That's uh, my mom. I'll be leaving too.” Elias seemed more at ease now. “Let's go together then. Is that okay?” Laurent nodded at him, trying not to let it show how rosy his cheeks became.  
  
Elias walked at the same pace Laurent did. Laurent was a little slow, nervousness somehow evident. Elias swung his arm around Laurent's shoulders, pulling him close. They stayed that way until they reached the entrance.  
  
Both their mothers looked at them, then at each other. Realization showed on their faces. Elias' mom spoke up first, “Who's your friend, Elias?” Said boy beamed, removing his arm from Laurent's shoulders and placing his hands on his hips. He puffed his chest out, proud and unashamed, “This is Laurent,” He pointed his thumb towards him, “He and Iana were the only people left here.” Elias' mom offered him a warm smile, and Laurent nodded cutely, pink making its way onto his cheeks.  
  
“Laurent, _mahal_ , did you wait long?” Laurent's mother asked. “Um, a little. But it's okay.” _I was able to meet Elias because of it._ “Mama, this is Elias. Elias, this is my mom.” He looked unsure, but Elias ruffled his hair. “Hi _tita_ ,” He shook Laurent's mom's hand, “I think you and my mom know each other...?” Elias voiced.  
  
“Actually, I just a met her a few minutes ago. We talked on the way here.” Their mothers looked at each other again, giggling. “I heard interesting stories about you and your sister.” Elias turned to his mom, “Mom, _why_?” He whined. His mother laughed, “Sorry. To be fair, I heard about Laurent and his brother too.” Laurent pulled at the end of his shirt.  
  
Elias' mom took Elias' hand, “Also, I'm sorry but we're running a little late so we need to leave now. Elias, say bye to your friend.” She told him softly. “Bye Laurent, and bye _tita_. It was nice meeting you.” Laurent waved shyly, “Bye bye. It was nice to meet you too.” Laurent's mom nodded at them, “Sorry to keep you, take care.”  
  
“Don't worry about it, we should have our sons meet up sometime.” Laurent was excited at just the thought of it, and they parted ways.  
  
On the way home, his mom asked him the typical questions:  
  
_How was school?_  
_Did you have fun today?_  
_What did you do in class?_  
_Did you finish your snacks?_  
  
He answered them all, replying with the right tones. He knows she's just trying to monitor and know what he's up to especially when she isn't around. His father doesn't ask much, just lets him be and face the consequences of what he does. It's always been like that, and all the same goes with his brother. Zach will be asked questions by his mother and at times just watched by his father.  
  
“Mama, can I use the telephone later...?” He asked kindly. “Okay, who are you calling?”  
  
“Um, Elias.”  
  
“Ah, I see.”  
  
“He'll call me, uh, not me call him.” He sounded confused at his own words. But his mom just nodded at him, giving him permission.  
  
Soon they reached home, and walked up the stairs to their house. Laurent looked for his father, and once he found him in the rocking chair, he went over to him. “Hi _tatay_.” He greeted.  
  
“Hi _anak_ , how was school?” His father replied, giving him his attention. “It was okay.” was all Laurent said.  
  
“ _Tatay_ and I will go somewhere, do you need anything?” his mother questioned. Laurent shook his head. His dad stood, patting his head and walking to his mom. Then they were out.  
  
Laurent felt a little excitement build up inside him, what should he do while he waits for Elias to call?  
  
_'Oh, right. Homework.'_ He thought, lazily trudging up the stairs. He entered their family's room, Zach being the first person he sees. “Hi _kuya_.” Zach looked to the door, “Hi Laurent.”  
  
He placed his bag down on the chair. “What are you doing?”  
  
“Drawing.”  
  
“Teach me?”  
  
“You have homework.”  
  
“How do you know?”  
  
“I just know.”  
  
He grunted, begrudgingly taking out his homework and working on it. He was done in no more than five minutes, English was his forte. Zach offered to let Laurent imitate whatever he was drawing. Then suddenly the telephone was ringing, how much time had passed? Neither of them noticed.  
  
Zach got to the phone first, having longer legs than Laurent. “Hello?”  
  
“Good afternoon. May I talk to Laurent?” He furrowed his brows, “Who's this?”  
  
“Elias. I'm his friend.” He held the phone to his chest, “Who's Elias?”  
  
Laurent rolled his eyes playfully, grabbing the phone from his brother. “Hi, it's me Laurent.”  
  
“Hi Laurent! Um, who answered?”  
  
“Zach. He's my older brother.”  
  
“Oh, is he mad at me?”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“He sounded mad...”  
  
“It's normal, it's okay.” He shooed Zach away, and the latter pouted, going back to drawing whatever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vocabulary (Filipino to English):
> 
> mahal - love/dear/term of endearment  
> tita - aunt  
> tatay - father  
> anak - child  
> kuya - usually used to address the older brother
> 
> \+ and since almost everything is here;
> 
> tito - uncle  
> nanay/ina - mother  
> ate - usually used to address the older sister
> 
> > I'm not quite sure how to explain how "ate" and "kuya" are used. In most Filipino families, "ate" is used by the younger ones to address their older sister, or even the other family members like their parents so the little ones get used to it. It is also used to address a female vendor, like saying, "Ate, how much is this?" I guess you can say you can call anyone who prefers to be called that, actually. It's commonly used as well to call another female whom you don't even know, so instead of saying their name, "ate" is said to get their attention. "Kuya" is basically used like this as well, but instead referring to a male. I hope that helps?


	3. Guard

Around an hour or two passed, and the two boys haven't had enough of talking to one another yet.  
  
“Laurent, are you going out on Saturday?”  
  
“No, I don't think so... why?”  
  
“Oh, um, you see.. I was thinking if you wanna come and play? Maybe not now but soon...?”  
  
Laurent sort of wanted to squeal but he obviously couldn't just do that and give himself away.  
  
“Y-Yeah, of course. I'll talk to my mom about it sometime.”  
  
“Okay. Do you have homework?”  
  
“Well, I _had_ homework. I'm done with it now.”  
  
“Did you need help?”  
  
“No, I'm fine. What about you?”  
  
“I already did it at school so I don't have to do it at home.”  
  
He doesn't know why he's never thought of doing that before. He admits this to Elias.  
  
“Maybe it's because it's called _home_ work, and not necessarily schoolwork? Does that make sense?”  
  
“A little, I think.”  
  
“My teachers get mad about it, but I mean, why wait and do it later when I can do it now?”  
  
Just, he didn't think Elias would be this... strategic? He couldn't really find the right word for it. Elias seemed to know a lot and it honestly excited him, even if it's only a bit.  
  
“What's your school like?”  
  
“It's like any other. Subjects, recess, subjects, dismissal. Friends, some good, some not that good, then teachers, some nice, some a little mean. Yours is like that too?”  
  
“I guess. But the teachers...”  
  
“What about them?”  
  
“Some bad, some worse.”  
  
At this, Elias huffed out a laugh, Laurent following after.  
  
“I get you.”  
  
“I want to transfer schools.”  
  
“Really? Why?”  
  
“I don't like mine. Does your sister like it?”  
  
“She doesn't really say anything, I think she's just in the middle.”  
  
“Hey, Elias?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“I... um...”  
  
“Don't be shy. Tell me.”  
  
“...I'm happy you called.”  
  
“Yeah, of course. I said I would call, right?”  
  
“Right.”  
  
“Laurent?”  
  
“Hm?”  
  
“Is it okay if I call you like, everyday?”  
  
“Yes. I like,” Laurent took a deep breath, trying not to stutter. “I like talking to you.”  
  
As he mentally praised himself for speaking clearly, he thinks he heard Elias chortle, “I like talking to you too. We have a problem though.”  
  
“What? What is it?”  
  
“It's just, I don't know. My mom might think I'm on the phone too much.”  
  
Elias bit his lip, silently praying his mom wouldn't be scolding him.  
  
“Oh...”  
  
“Okay, don't worry about it. I'll try to be with mom every time she gets Iana so I can see you.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Mhm. Better to talk and see you than just hearing your voice.”  
  
Laurent did _not_ blush.  
  
“I'll wait for you.”  
  
“But please...”  
  
“Please what?”  
  
“Please don't be sad if I'm not there.”  
  
He thinks he must have felt a twist in his gut. And he most certainly noticed that Elias requested that he wouldn't be sad, not _mad_. It was as if Elias would rather have him be mad at him than to be sad.  
  
“I'll try,” He said, then he heard the gates of their house being opened. His mother and father are probably home. He definitely doesn't want to stop talking to Elias, but...  
  
“Okay, you alright?”  
  
“Yeah, I am...”  
  
“You're suddenly really quiet.”  
  
“My mom and dad are home...”  
  
“You can go and greet them. I'll call tomorrow.”  
  
“Really? You will?”  
  
“Yup. Don't worry. Bye Laurent.”  
  
Elias didn't let desperation seep into his voice. It may be true he has an abundant amount of friends, but he wondered and thought for a time when he actually, genuinely enjoyed their company. And that was saying a lot since he was with them everyday. Laurent was merely on the other end, only hearing him talk and nothing more, but maybe it was the happiest he's ever been with a friend. But who knows, it could just be the excitement of having a new one.  
  
“Bye Elias.” With that, Laurent hung up.  
  
Zach walked over to him, “Laurent, let's greet mom and _tatay_ downstairs.” Laurent nodded, following his brother.  
  
After greeting them, they went upstairs again. There wasn't much that they can do anyway, since it was really hot outside and they would much rather relax in bed.  
  
“So... you talked with that kid for a long time.” But it didn't feel like a long time. “Um, yeah.” Zach raised a brow, “Is he nice to you?” Laurent knows his brother is just looking out for him. After all, there were times Zach was even more protective of him than their own mother. “Yeah, he's really nice.” Zach pushed a little more, “Not like the ones in America?” Laurent traced circles on the bed sheet, “No, but the ones in America said sorry, remember? So it's okay now.”  
  
Zach grunted, “ _You're_ the one who's nice, Laurent. Maybe too nice.” The younger shrugged, there wasn't much to share anymore. The one person who knew about the bullying back when they were in the US was his brother. It was inevitable anyway, considering they went to the same school. But Zach saw it happening only once since they were in different buildings.  
  
Laurent never wanted to tell anyone, but it was taking a toll on him. Finally, he cracked when he saw _Barbie_ on tv. His brother immediately rushed to his side, asking what was wrong or if he was hurt. Then they went from there. While Laurent was explaining everything to him, Zach threatened to beat up Laurent's bullies and send them to the hospital. Or burn them or torture them or something. Laurent didn't really realize his brother was a little violent but he guesses it was very natural reaction. Zach's patience wasn't a long one to begin with, and he would break anyone who so much as laid a pinky on Laurent. “No one hurts my little brother.” He seethed as he hugged Laurent tight.  
  
He begged that Zach keep his mouth shut, and made him swear to keep his promise. Zach did, and even until now, a year later, what happened was unknown to their parents.  
  
However, Laurent did tell Zach that his teacher had done something about it, and that he wasn't bothered by anyone anymore after that. Zach was still cautious, might be even more so. “But still.” He had said. Laurent pacified him by suggesting to play Pokémon on their Game Boy. Zach slowly calmed down as they progressed in the game. That day ended with Zach holding Laurent close when they finally slept.


End file.
